The DeKalb County District Attorney said Wednesday a suspect in three cold cases, including two sexual assaults, is now in custody.
District Attorney Sherry Boston spoke during a news conference with other representatives from the DeKalb County Cold Case Task Force.
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She said DNA evidence linked Jamal Toliaferro to the crimes from 2014, 2019 and 2024.
The first attack happened in December 2014, when a 54-year-old woman was walking to her garage. Investigators said a masked man sexually assaulted her then used tape to bind her wrists.
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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation developed a male DNA profile from evidence collected in the case, but the profile did not produce a match at the time.
In January 2019, DeKalb County police responded after a 35-year-old woman reported that a masked man armed with a knife tied her up and sexually assaulted her.
She fought back and bit the attacker’s hand, drawing blood. Investigators recovered the blood, and the GBI developed another male DNA profile from the sample.
In 2021, the GBI determined that DNA evidence from the 2014 and 2019 attacks came from the same unidentified man, according to investigators.
Investigators said a masked man armed with a box cutter bound a woman with tape in March 2024 and drove her around for several hours, stopping at ATMs to try to withdraw money from her accounts.
They said he also cut her and burned her with a lighter.
The GBI recovered DNA from a bag the attacker left in the victim’s car, investigators said.
Using improved technology, investigators identified Toliaferro as the suspect in all three cases.
Investigators said it remains unclear how the attacker selected his victims. They believe there could be additional victims and are asking anyone with information to call the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Tip Line at 404-371-2444.
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